The North End / Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) has submitted two letters—one to the Mass. Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs and one to the Boston Planning and Development Agency—regarding the Pinnacle at Central Wharf, also known as the Harbor Garage redevelopment project.
NEWRA writes that they support, generally, redevelopment of the Harbor Garage, but have concerns about the project as it has been proposed.
Members of the public can also submit their feedback on the project.
The deadline for public comments to the Mass. Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs is Friday, October 9, 2020. Public comments should be emailed to alexander.strysky@mass.gov, and the email should include the project name (The Pinnacle at Central Wharf) and the EEA# 16247.
Comments may be mailed to Secretary Kathleen A. Theoharides, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, 100 Cambridge St., Suite 900, Boston, MA 02114, Attn: Alexander Strysky, with the EEA# 16247.
The deadline for public comments to the Boston Planning and Development Agency is Friday, October 9, 2020. Public comments should be emailed to ebonydarosa@boston.gov or mailed to Paul P. Golden, Director, Boston Planning and Development Agency, One City Hall Square, Boston, MA 02201, Attn: Ebony DaRosa, Project Manager.
The introductions to NEWRA’s letters are posted below. Follow the links to see the full versions.
Dear Secretary Theoharides [ Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs]:
The North End Waterfront Residents Association (NEWRA) appreciates this opportunity to submit comments on the Environmental Notification Form for The Pinnacle at Central Wharf (the “Project”) and to provide input to the MEPA process and scoping for the Project. NEWRA is a membership organization of North End/Waterfront residents that regularly provides community input to City and State public review processes and decision-making that can affect the quality of residential life in our community.
NEWRA has a keen interest in the Project for several reasons. As an abutting neighborhood, our residents are regular users of the Downtown Waterfront District’s (the “District”) public amenities and accommodations, including but not limited to public parks, cultural, recreational and water-based resources, and the Harborwalk. And we share a harborfront that is critically important to the residents of the District and our neighborhood. We also shared with the District one municipal harbor plan that was approved by Secretary Tierney in 1991, the “Harborpark Plan,” and have experienced similar types of development – mostly private development – that have been constructed or proposed since that time. We therefore take careful note of the changes that have been approved in the new Downtown Waterfront District Municipal Harbor Plan (the “MHP”) approved by Secretary Beaton with conditions in 2018, as well as the projects that may be approved in accordance with that new plan. While we support, generally, redevelopment of the Harbor Garage, we have the following comments and concerns. Continue reading the full letter here.
Dear Mr. Golden [Boston Planning and Development Agency Director]:
The North End/Waterfront Residents Association (NEWRA) submitted the following comments to Secretary Kathleen A. Theoharides in response to the Environmental Notification Form filed by RHDC 70 East India LLC. We ask that you accept the substance of these comments as our comments on the Project Notification Form and as our input to the Article 80 process and the scoping of the Draft Project Impact Report. Continue reading the full letter here.
NEWRA voted in support of a letter at their September meeting. Read more from that meeting and watch the video here.
The New England Aquarium has also submitted a letter expressing concerns about the project
Dear Director Golden & Secretary Theoharides:
You may never review a single building project that more consequentially threatens the realization of an accessible, inclusive, and resilient waterfront public realm than Chiofaro’s proposed redevelopment of Boston’s Central Wharf, our home for fifty years.
Not least because this central location on the downtown waterfront has been shaped by literally billions of public investments over the past three decades, the decisions you make must be well-informed and thoughtfully-rendered. We offer this letter in that spirit. Continue reading the full letter here.
Read more NorthEndWaterfront.com coverage of this project by searching the tag: Harbor Garage Redevelopment.
